Knitting machine and method



June 27, 1939. m H AL 2,164,170

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 193'! 13 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTQRN Y6 June 27, 1939. M7 zwu: ET 7 2,164,170

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EYS June 27, 1939, M, z c H 2,164,170

' KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21 1937 1s. sheets-sheet s INVENTORS MICV/HEL Z lM/C fl/vroA/M/ {ova/(v ATTORNEYS "June 27, 1939.

M. ZIMIC ET AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 27, 1939. M. ZIMIC ET AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 6 l VENTOR M/CAZ CL Z// 4/C IQA/TO/V M/SKO 1/5/(1 BY M ATTORNEYS m n B J 3 m? June 27, 1939. M. ZIMIC ET AL -KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 ATTORNEYS June 27, 1939. M. zuvuc El AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 19157 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTORS I /C VSKV ATTORNEYS June 27,1939.

I M. ZIMIC ET AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 W SCWU S W W as m w o a m m Mm June 27, 1939. M. ZIMIC 5 AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 10 w mm a 0mm w T N NZ/ R E O VAN T i m we T NY MA 3 6 0w 4 7 "n W m H 4 \9 w 2? w p 7 7 o 4 w a 4 /a 0 0 fi June 27, 1939. M. znvnc ET AL KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet ll I N V EN TORS' M/ Cl/QEL Z/M/c 14/V70/V M/sKo l/S/(Y BY A TTORNEYS.

June 27, 1939. I M. zuvnc r-:r AL 2,164,170

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD I Filed May 21, 1937 l3 Sheets-Sheet l2 [Illl ATTORNEYS.

June 27, 1939. M. ZIMIC HAL 2,164,170

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 21, 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 13 A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 27, 1939 KNITTING MACHINE-AND METHOD 1..

Michael Zimic, Forest Hills West, Long Island, and Anton luiskovsky, Astoria, Long Island, N. Y.; said Miskovskyassignor to said Zimic Application May 21, 193'L'Serial No. 143,964

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in knitting machines and has particular reference to a full automatic, links andlinks machine, and the .method of knitting thereby.

In the manufacture of knitted fabrics, the formation of open-work designing has' heretofore been accomplished by the transfer of a loop from one wale of the fabric being knitted to an adjacent ,wale to thereby form an opening in the first Wale. So far as known inthe use of links and links machines, this transfer operation has been attained only through the medium of hand operated apparatus'by a manual shifting of a loop from one needle to another during intervals when the reciprocating movements ofthe carriage of the machine are'stopped. As a consequence of such manual operation and its attending difficulties including the "time consumed in effecting the same, the cost of production of the fabric is greatly increased and its output consequently limited.

According to the present invention, it is proposed to accomplish the transferof a formed loop from one needle to another in a links and links machine by a completely automatic operation. To this end, the invention contemplates the automatic control 'of instrumentalities, hereinafter generically referred to as transfer jacks, for effecting the loop transferring operation. These jacks are each automatically controlled, at predetermined intervals during the. operation of the machine, to remove a loop from one needle upon which it has been formed and thereafter transfer said loop onto a different needle carrying another'loop, so that the latter needle will then have two loops thereon which are automatically cast therefrom in the regular knitting operation with the result that both loops will be included in one, wale of the fabric with an open space formed' in an adjacent Wale.

The inventive idea involved is capable'of receiving a variety of expressions one of which, for purposes of illustration, is shown in theaccompanying drawings; but it will be expressly under-'v stood that said drawings are used merely for the purpose of facilitating the description of the inevention as a whole, and not to define the limits thereof, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the 'drawings:- Figures 1 to 6 inclusive are fragmentary transverse sectional views through the needle beds of themachine, illustrating the progressive operations of the transfer jacks and needles during a loop transfer operation.

. (o1. (ac-s3) Figure 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of a transfer jack and its support, the jack being shown in one of its operated positions.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of a jack and its support.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, of the lefthand end of the knitting machine.

Figure 10 is a similar view of the end of the machine.

Figure 11 is an end elevation of'the right hand end of the machine, showing such mechanism as is utilized in a loop transfer operation.

right hand Figure 12 is a top plan view, partly in section,

of the reciprocating carriage of the machine.

Figure 13 is a bottom plan view thereof illustrating the lock mechanism mounted upon the bottom of the carriage for controlling the stitching and loop transfer operations.

Figure 14 is a longitudinal section on the lin l4l4,of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a similar section on the line |5--l5 of Figure 12.

Figure 16 is a transverse section on the line l6l6 of Figure 12. V

Figure 1'1 is a similar section on the line "-41 of Figure 12.

Figure 18 is a section on the line Iii-l8 of Figure .12.

Figure 19 is a diagrammatic view showing the controls for the stitch and transfer cams of the lock mechanism, the needle latch opener for the'front needles, and the depressor for the rear or transfer needles, all of which enter into the loop transfer operation.

j Figure 20 is an elevation, partly in section, of the left hand end of the machine, illustrating the normal position of the mechanism for comtrolling the operations of the transfer jacks.

Figure 21 is a view similar to Figure-20 showing the position of the parts after the first operation of the transfer jacks.

Figure 22 shows the positions of the parts during the second operation of the transfer jacks and-just before the same are returned to normal or inoperative positions.

Figure-23 is a fragmentary plan view of the reciprocating carriage illustrating the yarn control mechanism by which a number of yarns may be selectively fed to the needles of the machine," and also by which feed of all of the yarns maybe discontinued during a loop transfer operation.

Figure 24 is a transverse section on the line 24-24 of Figure 23.

until the carriage has completed a reciprocation from its right hand position. Third, a transfer jack 43 associated with each of the transfer needl es now in the rear bed of the machine is raised to the position in Figure 2, being guided in this movement by engagement of the upper end of the jack in a groove 44 formed in the front longitudinal edge of the bed 26. As the jack 43 is raised its upper closed extremity contacts the then projecting end of its transfer needle and lifts'the same partially out of its groove in the bed 26. i

The carriage 28 is now ready to start its return movement from rightto left. With the transfer cams 35 now in operative position, the butts of the front jacks enter the groove formed by said cams and the first operation that occurs thereafter is that the portion 45 of said groove retracts each front needle slightly from the position of Figure 2 to that of Figure 3 to enable the latch opener 46 on the carriage, which opener has been lowered simultaneously with the lowering of the transfer cams, to engage and fully open the latch of said needle. Immediately following this retraction and opening of the latch, the front needle is again advanced to the position of Figure 4 and the butt of the jack associated with said needle then enters the groove 33.

The switch cams 29 now being raised, the. butt;

will enter the by-pass groove 41 instead of being advanced into the central portion ofthe groove 33 by said cams. Substantially at the same time that the front needle is being controlled as just described, the rear transfer cams 36 engage the butt of the jack 31 associated with the transfer needle and at the point 49 of the groove formed by said cams 36 said needle is retracted slightly and immediately thereafter advanced. The retracting movement enables the hook of the needle carrying theloop 42 to engage between the spaced portions of the spring arms or fingers 49 of the head of the transfer jack 43 when the needle is depressed from the position in Figure 2 to that of Figure 3. At the moment of said retraction the forward extremity of the latch opener 50 supported by the carriage 28, and which has also been lowered simultaneously with the cams 36, engages the latch of the transfer needle to fully open the same. Said latch opener 50 is increased in thickness and width from its forward extremity to provide a needle depressing portion 5| which engages the transfer needle, as the carriage advances to the left, and forces said needle down into its groove as shown in Figure 3, with the hook of said needle entering the space between the arms 49. As the needle is so depressed it is, at the same time, advanced by the portion 52 of the groove of the transfer cams 36 so as to free the loop 42 from the needle hook and deposit it upon the supporting shoulders 53 adjacent the upper ends of arms 49 of the transfer jack 43. Thereafter, the transfer needle is retracted by the earns 36 to the position of Figure 4, leaving the loop 42 upon the shoulders 53 of the transfer jack. The butt of the needle jack 3'! now enters the groove 34 and, by reason of the fact that the stitch earns 30 are now lifted out of operation, said butt will enter the by-pass groove 54 and from thence pass outwardly from the groove 34 as the carriage approaches its left hand position. When this position is It :hed, each transfer needle is in the position shown in Figure 4. As the carriage nears said position and before it starts the return movement to the right, two operations take place. The transfer cams 36 on the rear of the eration, may also be utilized to rack the needle bed variously when rack stitches are desired in the standard links and links operation. The result of the racking in the transfer operation is to shift the front needle from the position of. Figure 3, wherein it is longitudinally offset from the transfer needle, to the position of Figure 4 in which the two needles are directly opposed to each other.

After the above operations have been effected, the carriage moves to the right to start its second reciprocation of the transfer operation. With the stitch cams 30 and the transfer cams 36 in the rear portion of the carriage in raised or inoperative positions, the jack .butts of the transfer needles pass through the grooves 34 and 54 without material effect upon said needles. The stitch earns 29 in the front of the carriage being raised, and the front transfer cams 35 being lowered, the jack butts of the front needles will pass through the by-pass groove 41 and finally enter the groove between the cams 35 as the carriage moves to the right, so that the front needles will be advanced and remain in the position of Figure 5 after the carriage has passed thereover and reached its right hand position. This advancement of racked front needles projects the hooks thereof carrying'the hoops 4| into the knitting area between the two needle beds upon the jacks. The front needles are thus placed in position to receive the loops 42 when the transfer jacks are operated, as indicated in Figure 6, at the end of the right hand movement of the carriage. As the carriage reaches its right hand position, each of the transfer jacks 43, which was initially raised to the position in Figure 2 at the end of the first right hand movement of the carriage and has remained in such position until this time, is now further raised to the right hand dotted line position in Figure 6, then swung forwardly to the left hand dotted line position, and finally lowered to its full line or normal position in said figure. The forward swinging of the upper end of the transfer jack is accomplished by an oscillatory rod 55 carrying a longitudinally extending key 56. Said rod is turned to contact the key 56 with each of the transfer jacks at the instant that the latter is raised from the position in Figure 5 so as to impart a simultaneous forward swinging movement to the jack and thereby position the loop 42 directly over the shank of the associated front needle adjacent its hook. As the transfer jack moves downwardly toward its normal position the shank of the front needle passes between the upper extremities of the spring arms 49 of the jack, which arms spread to permit the needle to pass through; and as a consequence of this movement the loop 42 is deposited upon the front needle which already has the loop 4| thereon. The oscillatory rod 55 is immediately restored to normal position after it has swung the transfer jack forwardly to accomplish the operation just described.

A second operation which occurs at the end of the right hand movement of the carriage is the adjustment of the transfer cams to their raised or inoperative positions and the lowering of the stitch cams 29, 30 to their operative positions for regular knitting operations. Also, the yarn control mechanism is again thrown into operation so that when the carriage moves to the left to complete its second reciprocation a yarn will be fed to the needles. Further, the bed 25 is racked to its original position so that in the next regular knitting operation to follow upon the return of the carriage to the left, the loops on the various needles, including those needles now having two loops 4| and 42, will be cast in the usual way with the result that said two loops will be knitted into the same Wale in the fabric, as shown in Figure 29. The carriage now moves to the left to complete its second reciprocation of the transfer action and in so doing the needles in the rear bed from which the loops 42 have been removed and transferred on to the. front needles, may be released in the usual manner by their jacks and actuated by the regular stitch cams so as to be returned to the front bed from which they were originally projected at the beginning of the transfer operation; and during the passage of the carriage over 'the needles the regular knitting operation is again performed with the result that the formed loops are cast, as above described, and the new yarn is fed to the needles for subsequent knitting operations. The mentioned transfer of the needles in the rear bed to the front bed is done under the assumption that knitting of plain stitches is being accomplished. However, if a links and links operation is desired, the jacks in the rear bed may be so controlled as to retain some or all of the transfer needles in the rear bed in the usual manner for such operation.

The mechanisms by which the various above related steps in the operation are attained, will now be described in detail:

Mounting for transfer jacks In Figures 7 and 8 there is shown an oscillatory jack-supporting member 51 which is in the form of a bar that extends the length of the needle bed 26 and is provided in the forward edge thereof with a plurality of slots 58 through which extends the supporting rod 59. Each of the slots 58 is adapted to receive the lower end of one of the transfer jacks 43- and said lower end is provided with a notch or recess in which the rod 59 engages to thus provide a pivotal mounting for the jack from which the latter may be detached. Along the forward edge of the member 51 the same has' secured thereto, by means of a clamping plate 61, a plurality of leaf springs 62 each aligned with one of the slots 58 so that the free end of the spring will bear against the forward edge of a jack 43 mounted in the recess and thus yieldably maintain the Jack in association with the rear bed 25 during the entire operation of the jack except when the same is swung forwardly to deposit a loop 42 on a front needle, as described in connection with Figure 6. In Figure 7 the jack is shown in its first operated position where it has been partially elevated to remove the loop 42 from the transfer needle, and after said jack has been swung forwardly to deposit a removed loop onto the front needle, and has then started its downward movement, as will subsequently be described, the

mally inclined position relative to the needle bed. Control mechanism for the transfer y'ack Reference is made to Figures 9, 10, 11, 20, 21 and 22 for a description of this mechanism and its operation. The parts of the mechanism shown in Figures 20 to 22 are located at the left hand end of the machine, as viewed in Figure 9, and the control for such mechanism is located at the right hand end of the machine, as viewed in Figure 11. Referring particularly to Figures 20 to 22 the jack control mechanism is shown as comprising a housing 63 suitably mounted upon the frame of the machine and having mounted therein for sliding movements in opposite directions the upper and lower rack bars 64 and 65. These rack bars are alternately actuated by a vertically adjustable contact member 66, the operation of which is later to be described in detail, which is adapted to strike against the projecting end of either of said bars, depending upon the position thereof and the vertical adjustment of said member 56. At the time that the transfer jacks 43 are first elevated, which is at the termination of the first movement of the carriage 28 from left to right following the initiation of the loop transfer operation, the lower rack 65 is in its right hand position, as shown in Figure 20, and to start the initial raising of the transfer jack the contact member 66 is lowered so as to be in a position to strike against the projecting end of the rack 65 and drive the same to the left. When this action occurs the teeth of said rack rotate a pinion 61 in clock-wise direction so as to move the rack 64 to the right or in the operated position shown in Figure 21, this movement being limited by engagement of the extension 64a on the rack I54 with the contact 66. The shaft 68 of the pinion 61 carries an arm 69 to which is connected one end of a link ID. This link is provided with an elongated slot H therein to receive a pin 12 carried by an arm 13 which-is fixed upon a shaft 14 carried by the adjacent end of the transfer jacksupporting bar 51. The movement of the arm 69 from the position of Figure 20 to that in Figure 21 exerts a downward pull upon the link 10 which causes an adjustable set screw 15 at the upper end of the link to engage the pin 12 as said link approaches the extreme of its downward'movement, and at the conclusion of said movement the set screw I5 will have forced the arm 13 from the normal position of Figure 20 to the operated position of Figure 21. As a consequence, the supporting bar 51 is swung upwardly to the position shown in Figure 7, thereby elevating all of the transfer jacks 43 to the positions shown in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive. In order that there will be no torsional twist to the bar 51 which extends the length of the needle beds, the other end of said bar (Fig. 10) also has an arm 13a, similar to the arm 13. On the shaft 68, which also extends to the other end of the machine, is another arm 69a connected to a link 10a which controls the arm 13a in the same manner described in connection with the arm I3. The set screw 15 may be adjusted in the end of the link III in order to regulate the amount of throw of the arm 13 and consequently the degree of elevation of the transfer jacks. At the same time that the link 10 is pulled downwardly, the upper rack 64 is moved to the right by the pinion 61, as previously mentioned, and said rack carries therewith a plate 16 movable in a recess 11 formed in the housing 63. This plate has pivoted thereon spring 62 acts to restore the jack 43 to its nor-at 18 a lever 19 which is maintained in the normal vertical position of Figure 28 by a spring 88 connected to the upper end of said lever and by contact of the latter with a laterally projecting stop flange 8|, formed on the right end edge of the plate 16. The lower end of the lever 19 is reduced to form a curved shoulder 82. As the plate 18 moves to the right from its position in Figure'28 to that in Figure 21, andat the same time that the link 18 is being pulled downwardly and into its substantial vertical position in the later figure, the right edgeof the lower portion of the lever 19 engages the pin 12, and this engagement causes the lever 19 to swing about its pivot against the tension of the spring 88 which is connected to a fixed part 83 on the machine.

This swinging movement of the lever 19 continues until the right hand position of the plate 18 is reached, whereupon the shoulder 82 of the lever 19 will engage and rest upon the pin 12 and will remain in such position until the plate 18 is returned to its left hand or normal position.

A second lever 84 is also pivoted at 85 to the .plate 18 and is maintained in its normal vertical position (Figure 20) by a coil spring 88 connected to the arm 81 of said lever and by engagement of the latter with a stop pin 88 on the plate 16. As the plate'18 moves to the position in Figure 21 the upper reduced end of the lever 84- forming the shoulder 89 contacts a pin 98 carried by the adjacent end of the oscillatory rod 55, and the engagement of said pin with said shoulder 89 causes the lever 84. to swing to the inclined position in Figure 20 against the tension of the spring 86.

The apparatus has now been actuated to impart the'first raising movements to the transfer jacks 43 by reason of the downward movement of the arm 13, and the adjustments of the levers 19 and 84 tothe positions shown'in Figure 21 are preparatory to the subsequent additional raising and forward swinging of the transfer jacks which occur at the termination of the second right hand movement of the carriage 28,

'as previously described. These latter move- -ments of the transfer jacks are effected by the,

return of the plate 16 toward its left hand posi- 7 'tion, as shown in Figure 22, and said movement of the plate is obtained by a raising of the contact member 88 so as to align the same with the then projecting end of the upper rack 84 andwhensaid rack is so contacted, it is moved to the left and the rack 65 is projected to the right by the pinion 81, this movement being limited by'ensdgement of-the extension 65a of the rack 85 with the contact 85. The rack 84 ,carries the'plate 18 therewith and at the same time the link 18 moves upwardly from the position of Figure '21 to that of Figure 22, this being a.free movement in which the pin 12 passes from the upper end of the slot "to a point adjacent the lower end thereof. As theplate 18 moves to the left, the pin 12, resting against the shoulder 82 of the lever 19, acts as a fulcrum for said lever' and because of the fact that the latter is fixed at its pivot 18 to said plate the lever will have the effect of forcing the pin 12 further in a downward direction to impart a slight rocking movement to th shaft 14 in a clock-wise direction and thus i art a similarmovement to the transfer ber 51 to further elevate the transfer jacks to the right hand dotted position of Figure 6. At the same time that the member 51 is being moved from its position in Figure 21 to that in Figure '22 by the movement of the plate 18 toward its jaclgsubporting memter movement, being swung toward its vertical position by reason of engagement of the shoulder 89 thereof with the pin 98.1 Again, as with the lever 19, the lever 84 being fixed at its pivot 85 to the plate 15 imparts a lifting action to the pin 98 as said lever moves toward itslvertical position; and as a consequence of such lifting action the oscillatory rod 55 is turned in a clockwise, direction to engage the key 58 with the transfer jacks 43 to swing the same forwardly through the left hand'dotted line position of Figure 6 whereinthe loop 42 is ready to be deposited upon the front needle as each transfer jack subsequently moves downwardly toward its normal or inoperative position. The turning movement of the rod v55 which effects the swinging movement of the transfer jacks as just de-' scribed, is against the tension of a coil spring 9| connected at one end to the housing 83 and atits other end to an arm 92 carried by the rod 55 and normally resting on a stop pin 93. As the rod 55 is turned, the arm 92 is raised off of its stop pin 93 to the position in Figure 22. With the parts in the position of Figure 22, the plate 16 now continues moving to its extreme left hand position and in so doing the pin 12 is released from engagement with the shoulder 82 of the lever" by reason of the continued movement of the latter to the left, whereupon the lower end of the slot 1| engages said pin 12 and forces the arm 13 to turn counter-clockwise to swing the supporting member 51 downwardly,

- to the normal position of Figure 20, thus restor ing the transfer-jacks to their lowermost or normal positions. At the'endofthis movement in so doing the pin 98 will slide off .of the shoulder 89 of said lever and, under the influence of the spring 9|, the oscillatory, rod 55 will be returned, with its key 58, to the normal position v by reasonof the downward pull of said spring 9| upon the rod 92. A

To obtain the necessary vertical adjustments of the contact member 88 whereby the racks 84 and 55 are alternately operated, said member, is

slidably mounted in the grooved head 98 of an arm 91 mounted for oscillation about the pivot 98. In a portion 99 of the frame of the machine there is journaled the power shaft I88 which is utilized to control several of the operations of the 'machine including that of the transfer mechanism and. which rotates twice during each complete reciprocation of the carriage 28. The shaft I88 carries an arm l8l having upon its free end' a roller 182 which isadapted to contact the rear of the head 98 and swing the arm 91 forwardly so that the member 88 will engage and propel the rack bar 84 or 85 with which it may be horizontally aligned. After its forward swinging movement and continued rotation of the roller 182 out of engagement with the head 96, the arm 91 is retracted by a spring I83 connecting said arm with the portion 99 of the frame. The vertical adjustments of the member 58 are accomplishedthrough the medium of a link I84 pivoted the member and also to an arm I85 carried by a rock shaft l86 extending the length of the machine and mounted upon one side of the support I81 in which the carriage 28 reciprocates. At the opposite end of the machine from that at which the transfer jack-control mechanism is located. the rock shaft I38 carries another arm I" (Fig. 11) to which is connected one end of a link I30 the other end of which is similarly joined to one end of a rocking arm IIO pivoted on the frame at Ill. The arm H is maintained in the position of Figure 11 in which the contact member 33 is in its raised position so as to engage the rack 34, by means of a coil spring II2 connected to said arm III and to the frame of the machine. The inner end of the arm I I0 is interengaged with an adjacent end of another arm II3 the other end of whichterminates and is pivotally mounted at I I4 to the frame. Two sprocket shafts I I5 and ill of well known construction are utilized to initiate a number of the knitting operations by being stepped around,- as will be seen in Figure 28, to rotate a number of chains, such as the chains Ill and III, which are associated with the transfer iack mechanism. Each of these chains carries the necessary number of lugs H9 g arra ged at intervals about the chain and brought into contact with the arms H0 or H3 at the proper time to accomplish the desired operation. As shown in Figure 11, the shaft I06 may be, optionally, rocked by a lug on either of the chains III, II3, depending upon the positions of the lugs H3 thereon. If a lug on the chain III is engaged with the arm II. the latter is rocked about its pivot III independently oi -the arm 3. 0n the other hand, if a lug on the chain by reason of its interengagement with the arm III the latter will be actuated as by the chain Ill engages the arm II3, this aim is raised and, II! to produce the same result. The rocking of said arm I against the tension of the spring 2 pulls the link I03 downwardly to rock the shaft I33 so'that the link I04 will also move downwardly and thus adjust the contact member 35 in alignment with the rack 35 so that upon the next forward movement of the arm 91 under the control of the power shaft I30, will move saidv rack 35 in its housing to accomplish the operatlons previously described. When the contact 03 is ready to be raised to operate the rack 64, the chains III and III will he stepped around so that no lug III will engage either arm III or H3, .whereupon the latter will .be restored to the position of Figure 11 under the influence of the spring H2 and the contact 33 will thus be raised again to the position of Figure 20.

Carriage and lock mechanism control This mechanism, which s movable with the carriage 23, includes the stitch cams 29, 33, the transfer cams 35, 33, the iatch'opener 43, the

thereto to three distinctive positions,'with sliders I29, I2I movable in opposite directions each other and the slider I22 movable in the by the characters a, b and c, are stitch cams 23, 33, the transfer 33,-the latch-opener, and the needle 3| amine during the loop transfer Thus, in position a, the frontstitch cated hich the 33,

adapted to have longitudinal movements im'-;

e dinection'as the slider I23. The three posiindi cams 29, controlled by the cam block 123 carried by the underside of the slider I22, are in the lower or operative position for regular knitting operations, this position being indicated by the pin I24 at the left hand end of the angular guide slot I25 in the block I23; the rear stitch cams 30 are also lowered by engagement of their control pin I28 in the right hand end of the angular slot I21 in the cam block I29 supported by the lower slider I2I. Also in position a, the front and rear transfer cams 35, 36, controlled from the cam blocks I29, I30 on the sliders I22 and I2I', are raised to their inoperative positions, thepin I3I for the cams 35 being in the left hand end of the slot I32 in the block I29 and the pin I33 for the earns 36 being in the right hand end of the slot I34 in the cam block I30. A cam block I35 on the slider I22 controls thelatch opener 46, .and in position a the control .pin I36 therefor is in the left hand end of the slot I31. Finally, in position a, the cam block I38 on the slider I20, which controls 'the raising and lowering of the depressor 5I, is located so that its control pin I39 to which said depressor is connected is at the left hand end of the slot I40. I

As previously described, the first change in position of the various elements in a loop transfer operation occurs as the carriage 28 approaches its right hand position during its first reciprocation, at which time the stitch cams 29,

, 30 are raised, the transfer cams 35, 36 lowered and the opener 46 and depressor 5i also lowered to accomplish their respective operations on the return of the carriage to the left. This first change of parts to position b is attained by means of a control member'I4I at the right hand end of the machine, associated .with the sliders I20,

I2I and adapted for adjustment, as will later appear, to engage different portions of the stepped ends of said sliders to accomplish-various longitudinal adjustments thereof. Thus to obtain the b position, the member I is adjusted to align with the intermediate shoulder I42 on the upper slider I20 which is then projected beyond the adjacent end of the lower slider I2I. As the can'iage 20 approaches its right hand position, shoulder I42 contacts the member I and, as a result, the slider I20 is moved to the left and slider I2I to the right until the latter engages said member. The slider I22,

being connected to slider I20, in a manner to later appear, moves therewith. Thus the pin .I24 connected to the stitch cams 29 is raised to the indicated b position in slot I25 to thereby elevate said cams to their inoperative position and, likewise, the pin I 23 is raised by the slot I2'I to elevate the stitch earns 30. The pin I3I' connected to the transfer cams is lowered by the slot I32 to place said cams in operative position,

and the cams 33 are similarly adjusted by the movement of the pin I33 to the!) position. Also,

the opener '46 and depressor 5| are lowered by the passage of the pins I39 and I39, respectively,

to their 1) positions in the blocks I35 and I39. The carriage now moves to the left to effect the various operations previously described.

The next change to position c takes place as 'the carriage approaches the left hand end of its travel. during the first reciprocation, and this change is designed only to raise the elements 46 and II and adjust the rear transfer cams 36 to their raised or inoperative position preparatory to the next movement of the carriage to the right. To produce this change, the slider I20 is -moved further to the left by a contact member I43 at the left hand and of 'the machine. This member is adjusted, in the same manner as the member "I, during the travel of the carriage to the left, to align with a shoulder I44 (Fig. 12) on the lower slider I2I so that as said shoulder engages the contact I43, said slider will be moved to the right as in the first operation arid sliders I23 and I22 will consequently be again moved further to the left. Due 'to these movements, pins I24, I25 and I3I will pass from'position b to position 0 but owing to the horizontal disposition of the portions of the respective slots I25, I21 and I32 in which the pins are now engaged, the

stitchcams 23, 33 and front transfer earns 35 will neither be raised nor lowered in their c positions. However, due to the shape of the slots I34, I31

and I43, the further movement of-the block I33 to the right and the blocks I35 and I33 to the left, causes the pins in said slots to be raised, with the result that the cams 35,the latch opener and the depressor 5| will be adjusted to their inoperative positions. The carriage now again moves to the right to start its second reciprocation and during this movement the front transfer cams 35 advance the needles in the front bed 25. to the position of Figure'5 for the purpose previously described.

During themovement of the carriage to the right the contact member I4I at the right hand end of the machine is adjusted to a position so as to be engaged by the then projecting extremity of the lower slider I2I. This engagement, which occurs near the end of the right hand movement of the carriage, now moves the and I33 all'in their c positions prior to the final lower slider to the left through its maximum range of movement and a similar adjustment of the sliders I23 and I22 to the right is thus effected. Withthe-pins I24, I25,'I3I, I33, I33

adjustment of the sliders, it will be-appare'nt that said pins are now passed through the entire length of their respective slots and as a consequence the stitch and'transfer cams, the latch opener and the needle depressor are restored to the a position for normal knitting operations.

The control of the contact members I4I, I43- will now be described. This control is initiated by one or more chains I45 (Fig. 10) similar to chains II1, II3, mounted upon the sprocket shafts II5, I15, and said chain or chains I45,

with lugs I45 of diflerentheights thereon, is de-- signed to variously rock thelever I41 (Fig. 11). in accordance withfthe desired position of the \contact member I41 at the right hand end of the machine. The front end ofthe lever I41 has connected thereto the link I43 which is also joined to one extremity of the bell crank lever length of themachine. The other arm of the pivotally mounted at I53.

I43 mounted upon the rod I53'which extends the lever I43 has connected thereto one end of the link I5I the other end of .which is pivoted to an intermediate portion of an oscillatomarm I52 The upper end of said arm I52 carries the contact member I and, as indicated in Figure 11, the positions a. b and c of said member may be attained through the actuation of the lever I41 by the lugs I45 bu the chain I45. At the left hand end of the machine (;Fig.= 9). the rod I53 is connected, through the link I54 to the arm I55 which carries the contact member I43 so that the latter is adjusted to the a, b and c positions in the same manner as the contact I4"I. In Figure 12',- other slidersand associated elements, generally indicated by'the numeral I55 and similar to the sliders which have been specifically described, are utilized on the machine for performing other well known knitting'functions which are not I slider I23, the connecting arch I5I which joins the front and rear portions of the carriage 23, carries a rock shaft I52. At the rear end of said shaft (Fig, 14) the same is provided with an arm I53 the lower end of which is forked to engage a pin I54 on the slider I23 so that as the latter is moved the arm I53 will be swung to rock the shaft I52. At the forward end of this shaft (Fig. 15) it carries another arm I35 the lower end of which engages in a socket I55. formed in the block I51 on the slider I22. Thus,

as shaft I52is rocked, the arm'l55 is swung in the same direction as the arm I53- and the two sliders I23 and I22 are moved together. 7 V

Inl 'igure 16, the construction is shown by which the stitch cams 23 and 33 are raised-and lowered, At the left of said figure, the slider I22 is shown extending below the carriage 23 and having the cam block I23 thereon. The pin I24, which is engaged in the slot I25 of said block, is carried by the bar I53 that connects the two stitch cams 23 and supports them forvertical movement in the cam plate I53 on the underside of the carriage 23. To guide the bar I53 in its vertical movements, it is provided intermediate its ends with a pin I13 which extends upwardly through an opening in said carriage. With this construction, as the slider I22 is moved back, and forth the bar I53, and consequently the cams 23 are raised and lowered slider I22 may be moved in unison with the by engagement of the pin I24 inthe slot I25.

earns 33 to raise and lower the same in accord-i ance with the movements of the slider I2I.

The constructionfor operating the transfer cams 35, 33 is shown in Figure 1'2. At the left of said figure, the cam block I25, which is attached to the front slider I22, is provided with two portions I15 .ineach of which is formed one of the slots I32 for guiding the pins I carried by the two transfer cams 35 so that the 'latter may be raised and lowered. On the rear of the carriage, the lower slider I2I has'a depending V 7 111m the carriage 23 and supports-the cam block I33 having the slot I34 therein for guiding the pin I33. This pin-projects from the support I13 which is vertically adjustable in the cam plate I13 and carries the two transfer cams- I15 which extends through a slot 35, being guided in such vertical movements by the pin I33 extending through an opening in the carriage 23.

The means for accomplishing the vertical adjustments of the latch opener 45 will now be described. As shown in Figures 12 and 17; the

block I25 is provided with an extension III that supports'the block I35 which is lathe form prises two stationary'traclrways Ill and of a vertically disposed plate movable in an opening or reduced portion I" of the carriage Il. Said block Ill slides longitudinally in a housing Ill (Figs. 12 and 16) and has formed therein the slot I 31 which receives the pin I. Said pin is carried by the plate Ill which is moved vertically by said slot and from the lower end of which extends the arm Ill to which the latch opener 46 is attached.

The structure by which the needle depressor ll lsraised and lowered is best shown in Figure 18 wherein the upper slider IIl is shown as carrying the cam block Ill having the slot Ill therein. A supporting plate Ill secured to the carriage Il is interposed between the block Illand the depressor carrying plate Ill which is guided in its vertical movements by engagement of pin Ill on the plate Ill in the guide slot Ill. Said plate I" carries the pin Ill which extends through the slot Ill in the plate Ill and into the slot Ill in the cam block Ill so that. as the latter is moved horizontally by the slider III, the plate Ill together with the depressor ii will be raised and lowered.

' Yam control mechanism This mechanism, illustrated principally in Figures 23 to 25, is associated with the carriage Il and, in addition to the selective feed of a plurality of yarns to the needle of the machine eration; such discontinuance occurring, as previously mentioned, at the end of the first movement of the carriage to" the right after said transfer operation has been initiated, and the feed of the yarn being again started at the end of the second movement of said carriage to the right. I

The control mechanism for the yarns co IlI -which are substantially coextensive with the length of movement of the carriage II and mounted upon blocks Ill (Figure 10) on the frame of the machine. Said trackways have the tour yarn carriers Ill, Ill, ll and Ill mounted thereon for sliding movements and the various guides Ill depending from the carriers feed the yarns Ill from the source of supply to the needles of the machine in the customary manner. Eachoi' the carriers, 'as best shown in Figure 10, is provided at each end of its upper edge with an upstandlngabutment Ill which are utilined to reciprocate the carrier on the trackway by a control mechanism now to be described.

The mechanism for selectively controllingthe movements of anyone of the yarn carriers so that its yarn Ill is fed to the needles, is mounted upon the carriage Il by means of a beam IlI extending between the arches I" and III which join the front and rear portions of said carriage. Bald supports a frame Ill in which four pins Ill, Ill, Ill and Ill are vertically slidable, with a yieldable pressure in a downward direction exerted upon 'each of them by a coil spring Ill. Said pins are associated, respectively, with the carriers Ill to I" to propel the latter on their trackways when the pins are lowered to positions between the abutments Ill of the carriers. As shown in Figure 24, the right hand pin I" is lowered to its operative position and hence the yarn leading to the carrier lll willbe the one that is fed to the needles as said carrier is reclprocatedby the movements of the carriage 28 with which all of the pins travel, and the other yarn carriers will remain stationary on their trackways until the pin 20'! is raised and one of the other pins lowered into operative relation with its carrier.

As each yarn carrier moves back and forth on its trackway under the influence of its propelling pin alternately engaging the abutments 200, the same is brought into cooperative relation with a pin elevating device, generally indicated by the numeral 209 (Figs. 9 and 10), located adjacent each end of the trackway upon which said carrier is mounted. These devices are customarily supported for longitudinal adjustment on their trackways by providing the latter with-openings Ill to receive pins IIIa carried by the devices. Each device is positioned at some preselected point along its trackway where it is desired to throw out of operation the yarn connected to the carrier on said trackway so that saidyarn will no longer be fed to the needles until the carrier is again selected by the lowering of its associated propelling pin. As best shown in Figure 10, the device 209 associated with the carrier I94 is. provided with a deflecting finger or cam 2II which, as the carrier moves to the right and approaches the device, comes into operative position alongside the right hand aubutment 20B. Assuming for the moment that the pin 204 associated with the carrier I94 is, lowered and consequently engaged with said abutment, the tapered end of said finger will be contacted by the lower end of said pin and the latter will be elevated against the tension of its spring 208. The carrier engaging the device 209, will come to rest; but the continued movement of the carriage 28 to the right, causes the pin Ill to ride over the upper surface of the finger III and pass oil the same at the inclined right hand end III thereof. If the pin Ill should be still lowered by its spring upon the return of the carriage 28 to the left, said pin will engage said end III and be thus guided over the finger until the other end is reached, whereupon the pln-will again be lowered by its spring so that said pin will come into contact with the left hand abutment 200 as the carriage Il continues its movement to the left; and the yarn carrier will now be moved along with the carriage. If, on the other hand, the pin Ill, after passing over the finger III during the right hand movement of the carriage, had been elevated and held in such position, as will appear hereinafter, it would pass over the yarn carrier during the movement of the carriage'Il remain in its stopped position and its yarn would therefore not be fed to the needles.

The operative and inoperative positions of the pins Ill to Ill are controlled by two sliders III and Ill arranged alongside of each other on a bed plate Ill and interconnected by a rack and gear arrangement IIl which causes said sliders to move in opposite longitudinal directions when either of them is propelled, as will presently appear. ,Said sliders carry, respectively, the cam blocks Ill and I" the first of which is associated with the two pins Ill and Ill, while the block Ill controls the positions of the pins Ill and III-I. The block III is provided on opposite edges with two longitudinally spaced, tapered recesses Ill and III therein either of which may, by proper adjustment of th'e'slider Ill, be brought into vertical registration with its associated pin Illor Ill. Likewise, the block III has similarly disposed recesses 22l and 222 therein associated, respectively, withthe pins 206 and 201 so that wheneither of said recesses is brought into operative position relative to its pin, by a movement of the slider 2 l4, said pin will be permitted to lower to its operative position. For this purpose, the

head of each of the pins 204 to 201 is provided have a fifth position in which none of the recesses are registered with the pins and it is in this fifth position that the feed of all the yarns is discontinued while performing the loop transfer operation. In this fifth position of the sliders the same are adjusted longitudinally so that the four pins 204 to 201 will rest upon the upper surfaces of the cam blocks 2H, 2H out of alignment with-the recesses M9 to 222 and consequently in their elevated or inoperative positions in which they will pass over their respective yarn carriers and not propel the same when the carriage 2B is reciprocated.

The operation of the sliders M3 and 2 is effected in the following manner. Said sliders are provided at their right hand ends (Figure 23) with the stepped plates 224 each having five shoulders thereon for the five positions to which thesliders may be adjusted. A movable contact member 225 is adjustable between the plates to align with the particular shoulder necessary to accomplish the desired movement of the sliders for any one of said five positions, and when the shoulder engages said contact member in the movement of the carriage 28. to the right, the

sliders and their cam blocks are adjusted to the preselected position for either dropping one of the pins 204 to 201 to its operative position.or

preventing any of said pins from being lowered.-

As shown in Figure 23, the member 225 has been adjusted to contact the outermost shoulder of the slider 2 l 3 to obtain the fifth position in which no yarn will be fed to the needles. As the car- I riage 28 .approachesits right hand position said contact is established and the slider 2 I3 is moved to the left until the innermost shoulder on the slider 2", which is then moving to the right, engages said contact member-to stop further movement of the sliders. At the beginning of such movement, the portion 223 of the head of the pin 201 which is then in lowered position, as shown in Figure 24, rides outof its recess 222 and onto the upper surface of the cam block 218 and the pin is thus elevated to its inoperative position. At the conclusion of said movement, the blocks 2 l1, '2! are positioned so that none of the pins 204 to 201 can enter their recesses'and the operation of all of the yarn carriers will thus be discontinued until the member 225 is again adjusted just prior to the carriage 28 reaching its to' the needles upon the return of the carriage 28 to the left. In performing the same adjustments of the sliders as above described for regular knitting operations, the same may have plates 22.

(similar to the plates 224) at the left hand ends thereof which are adapted to be engaged by a contact member 221 at the left hand end of the machine so that change-overs from one yarn to another may be. effected as the carriage 2U approaches either end of its movement.

The adjustments of the contacts 225 to 221 are accomplished by the chain or chains 222 (Figure 10) on the shafts H5 or H6 through the usual linkage generally indicated at 229 which is similar to that controlled from the chain I45.

Needle bed racking mechanism This mechanism, illustrated in Figures 26 to 28, is not only adaptable for the purpose of racking the needle bed 25 to the position shown in Figures 4 to 6 preparatory to the completion of the transfer of the loop 42 to the front needle, but may also be employed, in link and link operations, to

selectively rack said bed from itsfnormal or any racked position thereof to which the bed may have been previously adjusted, to any one of a plurality of other racking positions of different magnitudes within the racking range of the bed. It will, of course, be understood that insofar as the loop transfer operation is concerned, other racking mechanisms may be employed which are capable ofracking the bed one or more needles,

the present mechanism being shown only by way of example and because of its adaptability in making a large variety of rack stitches in the fabric being knitted.

As shown, the mechanism comprises a rack bar 230 which is connected to the front bed 25 so. that the latter may be shifted longitudinally relative to the bed 26 to obtain the necessary racking operations of the needles in the front bed. At the end of the bar 230 remote from that to which the needle bed is connected, said arm carries a follower nut 23l ,movable in a longitudinal recess 232 formed in the upper section 233 of a housing 230 This not 231 is secured to the bar 230 by a set screw 235 and is provided therethroilgh with a screw-threaded opening 236 engaged by the threads 231 of a rotatable shaft 230 capable of being driven in opposite directions and to various degrees so as to shift the nut 23! back and forth thereon and thereby transmit the desired racking movement to the needle bed through the bar 230. Bylthe'provision of the follower nut and screwthreaded shaft, the pitch of the threads of which is very low, it has been-found in actual practice that no additional instrumentalities are neededto prevent any possible overthrow of the needle bed being racked relative to the otherbed, which overthrow might otherwise result in serious dama resetting shaft 239. The inner end of said shaft and adjacent end of the shaft 238 are provided with cooperating clutching elements 240 normally out of engagement with each other but adapted to interengage' when the shaft 239 is moved in wardly. When the clutch elements are so engaged, the shaft 239 may be rotated in either direction to transmit a similar motion to the shaft 238 and thereby adjust the follower nut 221 back and forth until the needle bed has been reset 

